Wrapping machine



June 30, 1953 BROOK 2,643,500

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet l June 30. 1953 L.BROOK WRAPPING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21. 1952 i mm June30, 1953 BROOK 2,643,500

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 #TTa V E/AYPatented June 30, 1 953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,643,500 WRAPPINGMACHINE Leonard Brpdafiseam, Leeds, England, assignor to The"Forgiove-Machinery compan Limited, Leeds, England, a company of Great BritainApplic tion April 21, 1952, Serial 1%. 283334 claims.

In bunch wrappin machines, articles to be wrapped are lifted insuccession from a feed disc, by a lifting plunger, each article beingcarried, together with a wrapper fed into position above it, through anorifice (usually lined with an annular brush) and into grippers on acarrier head.

As the result of the passage of the article through the oriiice, thewrapper isdraped about it in the form of a downwardly open cup, and thedepending portion of the wrapper at one side of the article is folded upagainst the base of the article, after it has been gripped "by thegrippers and the lifting plunger has retired, by a moving first folder.The depending portion of the'wrapper at the other side of the article"is thereafter folded against the base of the article by a fixed folderover which the article is traversed by movement of the carrier head bnits way to "a sealing station at which the folded pleats of wrapper arepressed against the base of the article by a heater pad. 7 4

The carrier head revolvesaboutavertical axis and it is necessary toimpart intermittent rotation to it and also to impart opening andclosing movement at appropriate times to the grippers on the carrierhead.

Recently a bunch wrappinginachine'has been developed having asuspended'carrier head, "the rotary movement being imparted to thecarrier head and the opening andclosing movements-being imparted to thegrippers fromra top-gear box beneath which the carrier head issuspended. This arrangement has the "a'dvantage of affording minimumobstruction at the sides of the carrier head and facilitates thedisposition of the heater pad operating mechanism and-also of mechanismfor actuating an ejector plunger-for dischargin the wrapped articlesfrom the carrier head and a top plunger which coacts with the liftingplunger during the lifting of the -articles into the grippers on thecarrier head.

The invention provides a wrapping machine organised for bunch ortwistwrapping'and having a suspendedcarrier head, *a gear'box above thecarrier head,{a tubular shaft depending "from the gear box and servingto impart "interrnittent rotation to the carrier head andaspind-ledepending through the tubular "shaft and carrying the first folder, "thespindle 'coacting with a cam. in the gear boxto impart'operatinghiovemerit to the first folder. The operation 'of the firstfolder iromthe top gear box gives further clearance for coaction ofother parts with the carrier head.

One specific embodiment of confectionery In Great-Britain April18, 1951wrapping machine according to the invention, which is interchangeablefrom bunch to twist wrapping as described in my copendi'ng U. S.Application, Seria1NOQ283j3'32, will now be described in detail, by wayof example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The firstfolder operates in the same way whichever mode of wrapping is selected.'In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the "machine,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, on-a'larger scale, through the top gearbox, and

Fig. 3 is a plan Viewof the top gear box with the cover removed.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the "figures.

Considering first of all Fig. 1, a w'eb ID of wrapping material isperiodically fed by a'picker (not shown) from a reel H over'rollers l2,l3 and along a, feed table to a pair of cutting knives. The knives (also'not shown) are periodically operated, as fully described in U. '8.application, Serial No. 283,332 tosever a wrapper from the leading edgeof the web. Afs'econd reel ill of wrapper is provided "for use whenthereel [1 is exhausted.

The picker-actuating mechanism is fully 'described in U. S. application,Serial No. 283,332 and it wi-ll'be suili'cient't'o explain here thata'bll crank I6 is periodically oscillated "by'a cam to impart "forwardand "return strokes "to the picker, while a link ll is'periodicallyra'ise'd'and lowered by a cam-operated lever 18' to close and open thepicker jaws. The lever I8 is coupled by 'a linkage i9 and a rod 20toaclamp 2l"whic'h is lowered to clamp the web "of wrappingmate'rial whenthe knives are operating and is moved to inoperative position when thepicker jaws close to feed the wrapper'forward.

The tablets tobe wrapped-are fed by hand in succession "from a hopper'22 into recesses in'a horizontal feed disc '24, which is intermittentlyrotated, in an anticlockwise direction 'as seen from'a-bove, to bring'thetablets in succession into position abo'vealifting"plunger 25. Thisis periodically lifted by a cam-operated linkage 26 to lift a tablet,andthe 'wrappenwhich has been fed by the picker "in'to' positionaboveit, through an annular brushil, Fig."2,"contained in a member-2'! andin'toa pair o'fgrippers 28ona carrier head '29, a cam-operated "topplunger '30 having previously descended through the brush to press thewrapper against the tablet during its transit'through'the brush. Thecarrier head 29" is intermittently rotated "and the-wrapping of thetablets is completed on the carrier head as 3 described in U. S.application, Serial No. 283,332.

After the grippers 28 have closed on a tablet l5, lifted into them bythe lifting plunger at the loading station, a first folder |4 (Figs. 2and 3) is moved, as later described, across the base of the tablet tofold part of the depending wrapper against it. The carrier head, whichis intermittently rotated about a vertical axis by a Geneva mechanism,also as later described, then carries the tablet on to a heatingstation, the tablet moving over a fixed folder plate 23 which folds theremaining dependent portion of the wrapper against its base.

As described in U. S. application, Serial No. 284,996, at the heatingstation a heater is pressed against the base of the tablet to produce aheat seal between the pleats of wrapper folded against the base, and atop padder presses against the top of the tablet. At the next station towhich the tablet is moved by the carrier head, a cooling pad is pressedagainst the base of the tablet and a top padder against its top. At thenext station a cooling pad is pressed against the base of the tablet. Atthe next and last station, the gripper jaws are opened by their cam andan ejector 3| (Fig. 1) ejects the wrapped and heat sealed tablet down achute 32.

The machine has a bottom gear box 33, disposed beneath the feed disc 24and containing cams for operating the wrapper feed mechanism, I6, H, thelifting plunger 25, the top plunger 30 and ejector 3|, a bar 34 foractuating the knives, and the heater mechanism. A vertical shaft 35driven from the bottom gear box extends upwardly into a top gear box 36,supported by a pillar 31 and fitted with a removable cover 38. Thevertical shaft 35 carries a crank pin 39 which periodically engages aGeneva wheel 40, rotatably mounted on a shaft 4| and bolted to a gearwheel 42 also mounted to turn .on the shaft 4|.

The gear wheel 42 meshes with a gear wheel 13, the hub 44 of which iskeyed, by a key 45, to a tubular shaft 46, to the lower end of which isfixed the carrier head 29. Intermittent rotation is therefore impartedto the carrier head 29 to bring the six pairs of grippers 28 carriedthereby successively into position above the lifting plunger 25 (Fig.l).

The vertical shaft 35 carries a cam 41, coacting with a follower 48 onan arm 49 integral with the lower end of a sleeve |50 mounted to turn ona fixed pin 59. Integral with the upper end of the sleeve |50 is an armpivotally connected, at its end 52, to a rod 53. The rod 53 passesthrough a hole in an arm 54 fixed to the upper end of a shaft 55 nestedwithin and projecting downwardly from the tubular shaft 46. At its lowerend, the shaft 55 carries an arm 56 to which is fixed the first folderI4. A spring 51 is mounted in compression between a collar 58 on the rod53 and the end of the arm 54. The first folder i4 is therefore driven onits forward stroke, to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, through thespring 51, which can yield in the event of obstruction to movement ofthe folder. An abutment 53 on the rod 53 coacts with the arm 54 toimpart a positive return stroke to the folder M. This, as above stated,moves across beneath the tablet 5 held in the grippers 28 after thelifting plunger 25 has descended sufficiently to permit of movementacross its path of the first folder, and thereafter retires to itsinitial position prior to the next downward stroke of the top plunger30.

The cam 41 has gear teeth on its outer periphery meshing with a pinion60 (Fig. 3) on the lower end of a shaft which can be turned by a handwheel 6| for the purpose of actuating the machine manually.

Also mounted on the vertical shaft 35, immediately below the top gearbox 36, is a cam 62, coacting with a follower 63 on an arm 64, mountedon a pin 65 pivoted to a member 66 of the machine framework. The end ofthe arm 64 is connected by a ball joint 61 to a rod 68. A ball joint 69connects the other end of the rod 68 to a gripper-actuating cam 10 whichis in screwthreaded engagement with a sleeve mounted to rotate on asleeve 12 which forms a bearing for the lower end of the tubular shaft46. The sleeve 1| is integral with a worm wheel 13, meshing with a worm14 on a spindle 15 supported in brackets on the cam 10. By rotating thespindle 15 the cam 10 can be given a vertical adjustment in relation tothe sleeve Each pair of grippers 28 is urged by a spring H to the closedposition. The left hand gripper 28, as seen in Fig. 2, is supported onan arm 18, pivoted at 19 to the carrier head 29 and carrying a followercoacting with the cam 10. The right hand gripper 28 is supported on anarm 8|, pivoted at 82 to the carrier head 29 and carrying a pin 83engaging a slot 84 in an arm 85 fixed to the arm 18.

The gripper actuating cam 10 is periodically rocked by the cam 62 tobring a high portion opposite the follower 83 of the grippers at thecharging station above the brush 9, thereby opening the grippers, and isthereafter rocked back again to allow the spring 11 to close thegrippers after a tablet has been lifted through the brush and intoposition between the grippers.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wrapping machine, comprising a carrier head mounted to rotateintermittently on a vertical axis, a plurality of pairs of grippers onsaid carrier head, means at a loading station for lifting in successioninto said grippers, as they dwell at the loading station, an article tobe wrapped and a wrapper draped around and depending from said article,and a folder at said loading station for folding part of the wrapperagainst the base of the article held by the grip pers dwelling at saidloading station, the combination with said carrier head and folder of agear box disposed above the carrier head, a vertical tubular shaftdepending from said gear box, said tubular shaft being connected to andconstituting the sole support for the carrier head, mechanism in saidgear box for imparting intermittent rotation to said tubular shaft, aspindle housed within said tubular shaft and connected at its lower endto said folder, and means in the gear box for periodically oscillatingsaid spindle to move the folder to and fro in relation to the grippersdwelling at the loading station.

2. In a wrapping machine, comprising a carrier head mounted to rotateintermittently on a vertical axis, a plurality of pairs of grippers onsaid carrier head, means at a loading station for lifting in successioninto said grippers, as they dwell at the loading station, an article tobe wrapped and a wrapper draped around and depending from said article,and a folder at said loading station for folding part of the wrapperagainst the base of the article held by the grippers dwelling at saidloading station, the combination with said carrier head and folder of agear box disposed above the carrier head, a vertical tubular shaftdepending from said gear box, said tubular shaft being connected to andconstituting the sole support for the carrier head, a Geneva wheel insaid gear box, gearing in the gear box connecting the Geneva wheel tothe tubular shaft, a driving shaft in'said gear box, a crank pin on saiddriving shaft coacting with said Geneva wheel to impart intermittentrotation to said tubular shaft, a spindle housed within said tubularshaft and connected at its lower end to said folder, and means in thegear box for periodically oscillating said spindle to move the folder toand fro in relation to the grippers dwelling at the loading station.

3. In a wrapping machine, comprising a. carrier head mounted to rotateintermittently on a vertical axis, a plurality of pairs of grippers onsaid carrier head, means at a loading station for lifting in successioninto said grippers, as they dwell at the loading station, an article tobe wrapped and a wrapper draped around and de pending from said article,and a folder at said loading station for folding part of the wrapperagainst the base of the article held by the grippers dwelling at saidloading station, the combination with said carrier head and folder of agear box disposed above the carrier head, a vertical tubular shaftdepending from said gear box, said tubular shaft being connected to andconstituting the sole support for the carrier head, mechanism in saidgear box for imparting intermittent rotation to said tubular shaft, aspindle housed within said tubular shaft and connected at its lower endto said folder, a cam in said gear box, a rod in said gear boxoperatively associated with said cam for reciprocation thereby, an armon the upper end of said spindle, a spring coupling the rod to the armand serving periodically to oscillate said spindle in the direction tomove said folder into position beneath the grippers dwelling at theloading station and an abutment on the rod for imparting positive returnmovement to said spindle and folder.

4. In a wrapping machine, comprising a carrier head mounted to rotateintermittently on a vertical axis, a plurality of pairs of grippers onsaid carrier head, springs on said carrier head for urging each pair ofgrippers to the closed position, means at a loading station for liftingin succession into said grippers, as they dwell at the loading station,an article to be wrapped and a wrapper draped around and depending fromsaid article, and a folder at said loading station for folding part ofthe wrapper against the base of the article held by the grippersdwelling at said loading station, the combination with said carrier headand folder of a gear box disposed above the carrier head, a verticaltubular shaft depending from said gear box, said tubular shaft beingconnected to and constituting the sole support for the carrier head,mechanism in said gear box for imparting intermittent rotation to saidtubular shaft, a spindle housed within said tubular shaft and connectedat its lower end to said folder, means in the gear box for periodicallyoscillating said spindle to move the folder to and fro in relation tothe grippers dwelling at the loading station, a gripper actuating cammounted for rotation on said tubular shaft between said gear box andsaid carrier head, followers coacting with the cam and connected to thepairs of grippers and mechanism for periodically rocking said cam to andfro to open and close the grippers at the loading station.

5. In a wrapping machine, a combination as claimed in claim 4,comprising a vertical driving shaft for driving said gear box, saidvertical shaft being offset laterally from the carrier head, a crank pinon said driving shaft, 2, Geneva Wheel coacting with said crank pin andgeared to said tubular shaft, a cam on said driving shaft, a linkageoperated by said cam for imparting oscillating movement to said spindle,a further cam on said driving shaft, and a linkage operated by saidfurther cam for imparting oscillating movement in relation to thetubular shaft to said gripper actuating cam.

LEONARD BROOK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,517,059 Groves Nov. 25, 1924 1,735,978 Rose Nov. 19, 19292,137,656 Rose Nov. 22, 1938 2,208,776 Sandberg July 23, 1940 2,283,097Sandberg May 12, 1942 2,567,405 Sandberg Sept. 11, 1951

